Governor-Elect Hassan Launches Statewide "Innovate NH Tour"

DURHAM – As part of her efforts to reach out to businesses, legislators, community leaders, and all Granite Staters for their ideas on how to keep New Hampshire moving forward, Governor Elect Hassan today launched a statewide "Innovate NH Tour," beginning with two stops on the Seacoast highlighting the Green Launching Pad at the University of New Hampshire and an innovative company it has helped grow.

Hassan's "Innovate NH Tour" will feature stops across New Hampshire, including visits to innovative businesses and discussions with local leaders, educators and citizens.

"New Hampshire's greatest strength is our inclusion of all people who are willing to contribute their energy, talent, and innovative ideas to addressing our challenges," said Hassan. "Our Innovate NH tour will allow people from across the state to provide feedback on my innovation plan, outline their priorities as we develop a fiscally responsible balanced budget, and share their ideas for building a stronger, more innovative New Hampshire."

Hassan launched the tour with a roundtable discussion and briefing at the University of New Hampshire on the Green Launching Pad, which provides entrepreneurs with technical, scientific and business assistance from faculty and students at UNH, helping new businesses grow. Green Launching Pad, started in 2010, has successfully built an innovation platform with the goal of launching and accelerating the growth of green ventures in NH. Since 2010, Green Launching Pad has launched/funded 14 green ventures–six in renewable energy, four in energy efficiency, and four in green manufacturing.

"In a period of two years we have successfully developed an innovation ecosystem in the state by connecting faculty researchers, students, industry mentors, and entrepreneurs both at UNH and statewide. We have shown how our community can work together to develop and nurture the next generation of entrepreneurs who can contribute towards economic development and also positively address the environmental challenges," said Venky Venkatachalam, Green Launching Pad Project Director and Professor at UNH.

Following the discussion, Hassan visited one of the Green Launching Pad's success stories, Therma-HEXX in Portsmouth, which specializes in the manufacturing of green building products to improve heating and cooling. Therma-HEXX, which was one of six New Hampshire companies chosen in 2011 for funding by the Green Launching Pad, was recently awarded the N.H. High Tech Council's Product of the Year Award for its innovative heating and cooling technology.

"Without the help of the GLP program, we could not have reached this level of success so quickly. We look forward to sharing our knowledge and experience gained through this program with future recipients of the GLP program," said Robert Barmore, Founder and CEO of Therma-HEXX.

"The work being done at Therma-HEXX has the potential to create good jobs and revolutionize energy usage in our homes and business," said Governor-Elect Hassan. "Supporting ground-breaking companies like Therma-HEXX is critical for creating jobs and strengthening our economy. My innovation plan focuses on building a strong workforce, providing targeted tax credits, and supporting programs like the Green Launching Pad that offer needed technical assistance so we can attract and grow more innovative, job-creating businesses here in New Hampshire."

As Governor, Maggie Hassan will bring people together to keep New Hampshire moving forward by focusing on innovation, fiscal responsibility and common-sense solutions to our challenges. Hassan will work with members of both parties to develop a fiscally responsible balanced budget that protects New Hampshire's priorities without an income or sales tax. She will work to implement her "Innovate NH" jobs plan, which focuses on building the best workforce in the country, providing tax credits to businesses, and giving businesses technical assistance to help them create jobs. And Hassan will reach out to legislators and citizens across the state to listen to their ideas on moving New Hampshire forward.